Lawmakers: Energy bill unlikely to shield additive

The Nation - In Brief

July 25, 2005

WASHINGTON -- Congressional negotiators said Sunday that they had resolved a dispute over a controversial gasoline additive that had threatened passage of the first overhaul of national energy policy in more than a decade. They said they did not expect the energy bill to include any legal protection for the manufacturers of methyl tertiary-butyl ether, or MTBE, which helps engines produce less smog but has been blamed for contaminating groundwater supplies across the United States. The decision not to shield MTBE manufacturers from environmental lawsuits should clear the way for negotiators to complete work on a final bill, perhaps as early as today, and send it to the House and the Senate for approval by the end of the week. President Bush -- who has made this legislation a priority since taking office in January 2001 -- called top negotiators Sunday, prodding them to send him a bill before Congress begins its August recess. Bush and lawmakers from both parties are eager to pass an energy bill to show their concern for high gasoline prices.